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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 25, Issue 4
Why Does God Let Us Choose Spiritual Life Or Death?
By Carey Kinsolving August 2024
at all. “God wanted to see if we loved Him enough to choose to live with Him,” says Shelby, 10. What if we all choose the wrong team? What would God do then? Don’t worry, says Matthew, 9, “He’s merciful.” God designed a plan for us even when we chose the wrong team so that He could display something about Himself. Luke, 10, says, “It would be showing us grace.” Okay, but how can we get on the right team? “Jesus died on the cross, and now we can choose to go to heaven,” says Candace, 10. Martin Luther described the faith by which we embrace God’s team as “the hand of a beggar reaching out to receive the gift.”
God gave us a choice between spiritual life and death “so He could have people on His side,” says Damian, 9. It sounds like we’re pick- ing teams for a giant volleyball or baseball game. Wes, 11, believes it’s a good thing that there are two teams because “heaven is too heavenly for sinners.”
Lots of people know just how Wes feels. Heaven – with all that imagined singing and harp playing – turns them off. They say they don’t want to go to heaven because their friends won’t be there. What if separation from God is like soli- tary confinement? Then what? “We would realize our mistakes,” says Stephanie, 11. By then, it might be a little late. People who joke that they want to go to hell should think again, says Allie, 9, because “no one should choose death.” That sounds good, but every day people smoke, use harmful drugs and drink alcohol to excess even though they know it will cause health problems and possibly shorten their lives. If people have such difficulty with the more immediate choice for physical life versus physical death, it’s understand- able that they’ll have an even tougher time choosing spiritual life over spiritual death. The consequences seem so distant and intangible. Not to worry, says Kristen, 10: “God wanted to give us all a chance at life.” Yes, says Martha, 7, “Jesus wants us to
have eternal life.” Second Peter 3:9 says, God “is patient with you, not want- ing anyone to perish.” Some people distort this truth and don’t believe hell exists. They say, “How could a loving God send anyone to hell?” Remember one thing about God, says Lauren, 11: “He’s fair.” And Scott says if there were no hell, “there’d be no point in life on earth as we’d all be going to heaven.” This life/death question has a point, but what is it? “God wanted to test what He made,” says Cory. The real issue, according to Lacey, 9, is faith: “God wanted to see our faith in Him.” God gave us a choice “because He didn’t want to force everyone to love Him,” says Mariah, 8. Forced love isn’t love
The reason God granted us a choice between spiritual life and death is “to teach us that we can’t live without Him,” says Casey, 12. Maybe that’s why so many people are struggling; they’re finding out through their bad choices that they need God. Think about this: Our present life and life after death go better with God because He is the source of life. Memorize this truth: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). Ask this question: Do you know Jesus as the source of your life here — and hereafter? KidsTalkAboutGod.org
Our Strength Comes From God
By Dr. Sherri Tenpenny August 2024 Nahum 3:13, “Look at your troops; they are weaklings. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed the bars of your gates.”
that is so badly experiencing decay everywhere you look: education, government, FBI, CIA, police, politics, immigration, healthcare, social morals, censorship, constant surveillance, the family, the Boy Scouts, the Church, and more. What did I forget? And now, the attempted assassination of President Trump most likely due to a failure of Secret Service se- curity. Was it an “inside job” as many are suggesting? However the investigation shakes out, and we learn who was at fault, the one thing we can be thankful for: Trump was only slightly injured, as seen on public TV, even though he was an inch from being dead. Others were not so fortunate. I hope this instills gratefulness, humility, and the need for a prayerful life into his heart. I hope this event will wake up America, calling our na- tion to repent and turn back to God. At the beginning of 2022, I asked God, “What do You want me to talk about this year? I’m really tired of talking about COVID.” His word that came to my spirit re- soundingly loud and clear: “REPENT.” So, for two years, on large and small platforms, I encouraged peo- ple to repent for putting their trust in the Pharmakia and turning to a jab to relieve their fear instead of turning to God and laying their fear at the foot of the cross. I took a lot of heat for that position; those doing God’s bidding usually do. However, the message to REPENT has shown itself to be much bigger and broader than only repentance for each individual. It’s for our entire nation. I pray that the last verse in the book of Nahum is not also a warning to America: “Nothing can heal you; your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty.” TODAY’S PRAYER: Dear Father, You are using every possible event to call us back to You. Open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts to hear You calling. Let us as a nation, respond and repent. We are grateful for the spirit of protection given to President Trump and to our country. We are grateful for your patience, as you say in Your Word, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Our prayer comes from Psalm 59:1-2: “Deliver us from our enemies, O God; be our fortress against those who are attacking us. Deliver us from evil doers and save us from those who are after our blood.” Thank You for Your love, Your mercy, and Your patience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
extinct empire. About 100 years after Jonah had preached a miracle
ommended book, “Right Wing Revolution – How to Beat the Woke and Save the West.” In chapter 3, he
In the last few weeks, I’ve been reading through the 12 books of the minor prophets, which I had never read before, except for the book of Jonah. Three of the twelve books (Jonah, Zephaniah, and Nahum) warn Nineveh about God’s wrath and its com- ing destruction. When Jonah called the city to repent, the entire population of 120,000 people, their animals, and their King went on a dry fast — no food or water for three days. God relented, showing divine compas- sion, and did not destroy the city. But the people’s turn from wickedness was tempo- rary. Soon, the kings and the people reverted to their extreme wickedness. The Assyrian soldiers were for- midable and especially cruel to those taken captive. They would often employ “scorched-earth tactics,” de- stroying crops, livestock, and infrastructure in con- quered. The prisoners taken from the defeated cities, especially their leaders, were publicly impaled, flayed alive, or tortured and then beheaded. The Assyrian rulers had learned how to weaponize fear in an attempt to strengthen their empire and keep their subjects in check. It didn’t work; historically, the Assyrians are an
calls out the transgender fiasco and drag queen events happening across our country – in schools, in public li- braries, in the halls of our state and federal legislators, and in our military. He points out some interesting and discouraging facts about our military: • Shortly after January 6, the military created a “Coun- tering Extremism Working Group” to make sure our mil- itary men and women were well-versed in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles and practices (DEI). In 2021 alone: • The military proclaimed it would provide free trans- gender surgery and life-long hormonal therapies as de- termined to be “medically necessary” (our tax dollars at work). • The Department of Defense announced plans to lower aptitude standards for promotions. • Nationally mandated COVID shots were rolled out for all branches of the military, with the threat of get the jab or lose your job, your commission, and your retirement that you put your life on the line for over many years. • West Point began offering a class on “The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality.” Two of the required books were Critical Race Theory: An Introduction and Queer Theory Now: From Foundation to Futures. Our military, once a strongly respected institution, is not what it used to be, or movies would continue to hav us believe. In fact, in 2023, the U.S. Army missed its recruitment goal by 25%. Who wants to serve a country
into the sprawling city, Nahum again pronounced the Lord’s judgment on Nineveh for its cruelty, sorcery, and idolatry. It is a short book, only three chapters, but Nahum lays out in plain language God’s coming wrath on Nineveh for its wickedness. Verse 3:13 brought to mind the decay of the United States and all the “woke nonsense,” we have passively accepted as the “new normal.” Our borders are open, and we’ve allowed dan- ger to permeate our country so we don’t “offend any- one.” I’ve also been reading Charlie Kirk’s new highly rec-
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